1281-B - Compound Management – Daily Delivery of Research Compounds

Monday, February 5, 2018

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Compound Management requires inventory control of small molecules needed for assays and experiments. Over the years more experimental data on multi-dimensional optimization (MDO) parameters and target specificity are generated earlier in the Lead Optimization (LO) process on a higher number of newly synthesized compounds. This change in working practice has led to an increased number of powder weigh outs and complex liquid handling operations which had to be carried out in research labs. The repeated manual weigh of individual samples is inefficient, time consuming and it often provides more material than is actually needed for certain assays, resulting in waste and depletion of valuable compounds. Suboptimal storage conditions for solutions in the labs as well as the manual retrieval and handling processes have a negative impact on sample quality. Our goal was it to optimize the usage of research compounds by centralizing all sample handling activities within a dedicated subunit of the Roche Compound Depository in Basel. A Sample Submission Center (SSC) has been implemented in September 2007. This group is responsible for the delivery of Research compounds as powder or in solution for all primary assays in-house and external. It is equipped with automated storage and retrieval systems as well as with pipetting devices for initial compound dissolution and the preparation of custom plates. Samples and data are tracked by a purchasable LIMS since 2013. Last year we delivered more than 40k compounds for 30 different projects to receive results for most of them within one week and a delivery turnaround time of 24h.